With more than six billion people living on the planet – and the number is increasing by 215,000 a day (slightly less than the population of Swansea) – there is a growing need for everyone to understand how much of the Earth’s natural resources are available to share between us.
Quite simply, if present trends go unchecked, humans will soon need the resources of three Earth-sized planets to sustain our consumption of energy, crops, meat, fish and wood. The Ecological Footprint is one way of measuring how our lifestyles’ impact on the planet and on other people.
According to WWF’s
Living Planet Report, the Living Planet Index (a measure of overall trends of wildlife populations in the world) dropped by 29% in the last 30 years, while the Ecological Footprint has more than tripled since 1961.
Humanity is consuming Earth’s resources at a rate that is 25% faster than it can replenish itself and we are already feeling the impact. Half the world’s rivers are seriously polluted. More than a quarter of sea fish stocks are depleted, and sea level is set to rise for decades even in the best – case climate change scenarios.